What Lies Beneath
by Gemimaa
Summary: Lost and far from home Roxton and Marguerite must pull together to survive. Adventure/Romance- what more could any Lost World fan ask for? PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

Walking through the vast amounts of green shrubbery that sprouted in great patches deep within the dense jungle of the Lost World, in search of ailments for Challenger's store cupboard was one of Marguerite's least favourite duties of all. It usually consisted of walking for hours on end, without rest, only to stop and peer at fern-like plants that could or could-not be the plant sought for. However, with Challenger on board for this expedition, things were looking up; this could potentially mean that the whole plant-deciphering process would take less time (Challenger had them all off by heart, as did the jungle born beauty whose Tree House the explorers inhabited, Veronica). However, this could and most likely would mean that time would be spent investigating a colony of rare insects, or plant of some form making the whole outing last that bit longer.

The day started out beautifully. It was a bright and boiling hot morning on the Plateau. As the explorers packed up their gear that would be required for the day: tools, plant books, ties for the plants, and weapons- just in case they bumped into trouble of some form or another, the birds were singing their morning songs, completely oblivious of the turmoil to come. Challenger, Roxton, Marguerite and their newest addition, Finn made their way into the elevator and descended to the jungle floor. The day had begun in an ordinary way; they were waved off by Veronica who remained behind to 'paint' or rather, as Marguerite had expected, to 'pine' after Ned, the lost Reporter from London, who it seemed had taken Veronica's heart with him when he left.

They had been walking for two hours now and were nearly half-way through their list of sought after plants. As expected, Challenger had stopped to peer at some 'magnificent' species of insect. Uninterested and tired from the walk and lack of sleep the past few nights, Maguerite wandered off from the rest of the group.

Frightening dreams of the past and what could be waiting for her in London were the cause of Marguerite's insomnia; however, rather than talk about it, the brunette preferred to spend the early hours reading: anything to keep the dreams and memories away. Only, now she felt consumed by exhaustion, and although she would never intentionally show it tell-tale signs of a lack of sleep were beginning to show through dark circles beneath her eyes. She walked slowly through the dense jungle to a small clearing within a circle of trees and stopped, leaning against a tree to catch her breath.

Having noticed Marguerite disperse from the group, Roxton ambled slowly behind her leaving Challenger and Finn exclaiming animatedly about the freak of nature they had discovered. Truth be told, he was worried about her. He had often caught her the past few evenings reading deep into the night and then, contrary to her ordinary behaviour she was the first awake in the mornings. He would find her fully dressed, coffee in hand waiting for the rest of the explorers to embark on their daily routines.

After trudging through the dense jungle for five minutes he came upon a small clearing, and leaning against a tree on the outskirts in a ivory blouse and khaki jodpers, just in front of him was Marguerite. She looked beautiful as per usual, however the dark circles beneath her eyes and troubled expression on her face made Roxton anxious.

Concerned that he might frighten her by creeping up behind her unexpectedly, he said as he made his way towards her, "I hope I'm not interrupting." However, despite his best efforts she gasped and quite visibly jumped at his unexpected entrance.

Trying desperately to compose her thoughts and expression, Marguerite watched the handsome Lord Roxton clad in his usual sky blue shirt, khaki pants and of course staple hat, step towards her. Smiling nervously she replied "No, no of course not. Just taking some fresh air." Then, realising how ridiculous she sounded she flushed slightly and turned away from him.

Closing the proximity between them with one final step he reached out and touched her arm, in a gesture of comfort. She didn't flinch at this contact, but he could tell that she was uncomfortable.

"Marguerite, are you alright?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, turning again to face him. But despite her obvious effort to retain some of her usual vigour, she sounded weak and feeble.

"You can tell me Marguerite." he begged in earnest, looking her right in the eye.

"There's nothing to tell" she said in a rather off-hand tone. Sighing in exasperation the handsome hunter took a deep breath, willing himself to be patient, and decided to broach a different subject:

"Look, what happened between us, before, in the cave. I meant every word Marguerite. If there is something bothering you, I want you to know you can trust me…" at that point he broke off as she turned and took a few steps away from him, crossing her arms tightly across her chest, as if in self defence.

"John, I…I can't…" then taking a deep breath she said "It's nothing…" she broke off, her voice caught in her throat as tears build in her eyes.

"Well it's obviously not" he replied, losing his patience. "Marguerite, you're not sleeping, barely eating anything at all, you look exhausted. No to mention the fact that you've been avoiding me like a plague ever since..." Breaking off, he stepped forwards and held her shoulders in comfort.

Shrugging him off, she turned to face him, tears streaking her face. Raising her voice she said "Please just leave me alone!"

Hurt was clear on Lord Roxton's face as she yelled at him. But this would not deter him: he took yet another step towards her in which she responded to with yet another step back, placing both of them in the centre of the clearing.

However, before Roxton could say another word, or Marguerite take another step a loud creak sounded from the jungle floor beneath them and the whole clearing gave way, taking the two explorers tumbling into the dark abyss below.

So this is my first Lost World fic, or I should say, the first Chapter of my first Lost World fic.

PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW! I would really appreciate it- both good and bad comments welcome.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

The shock of ice cold water soaking through her clothes made Marguerite feel more awake than she had in days. With a splash the two explorers had landed in a great big whirl pool half a mile down a deep hole in the ground, where they had been standing just moments before.

It had all happened so fast that Marguerite was in shock initially. Looking up, she could only see the tops of the trees that surrounded the clearing, shading the deep crevice below from light. Squinting through the dim light she could make out the outline of Roxton's head and shoulders bobbing in the water near the edge of the pool.

"Roxton?" she cried, her voice harsh with emotion and fear.

"Marguerite, are you alright?" He asked her, with concern masking every syllable. Marguerite was just about to respond when the current became stronger and she found herself being pulled towards the centre of the pool.

"Argh!" With all the determination she could muster, Marguerite tried to swim to Roxton. Yet, the current only became stronger the harder she fought against it.

"Marguerite!" He cried, as he tried to swim toward her. Roxton would gladly lay down his life for this woman, any day, no matter what and they were both well aware of this. But it seemed that no matter how fiercely he fought the current to get to her, that she was pulled further and further away from him, toward the centre of the pool.

"Here Marguerite, grab my hand!" he yelled. Yet he could not reach her as she was pulled into the centre of the pool. Fear lined the features of Marguerite's beautiful face as she cried out once more. Panic engulfed Roxton as the brunette was pulled beneath the surface of the water.

"MARGUERITE!" He cried in anguish as she vanished out of sight. Then before he could utter another syllable, he too was pulled beneath the surface.

The pressure of the water as it pushed the two explorers under was unbearable, compressing the air from their lungs as they tumbled deeper and deeper into the dark abyss. It seemed to go on forever, as if time had stopped altogether in this underwater world they had tumbled into. Then suddenly the pressure vanished.

They were still underwater, yet they could now see one another as daylight filtered through the water from above. Instinctively they both swam toward the surface, Marguerite, breaking through the water first, followed shortly after by Roxton.

They both bobbed on the surface of the water and began treading water to keep themselves afloat. Marguerite was gasping desperately for breath, making up for their temporary loss of oxygen. Roxton glanced worriedly at her and then scanned his surroundings. In front of them all he could see was a vast ocean, stretching on for miles. Yet in the opposite direction he could just make out a shore line. However, closer to them (about four miles in the distance) and adjoined to the shore in the distance was what appeared to be a very tall, sheer cliff face.

He turned his attention on Marguerite, who looked panic stricken and exhausted at the same time. Her hair, now wet after being under water, clung to her clothes and face. She was still struggling for breath, but the urgency had gone, which contented Roxton some what. Her expression however, was unfathomable.

"Marguerite," he said swimming closer to her "are you alright?"

"Fine," she replied in a quiet voice that worried the handsome hunter "but how are we going to get out of here? And, where are we?"

He could hear the panic rising in her voice and see it in the whites of her eyes.

"It seems as if we've been swept out to the middle of the ocean. I can't tell whereabouts we are, but my guess is that the shore over there must be some unexplored corner of the plateau." Hearing her exasperated sigh, he continued "Look the cliff face will be too dangerous for us to attempt to climb. The shore's our best bet."

Then as he turned their bodies in the correct direction, he was stunned by the look of pessimism on Marguerite's face.

"Is that supposed to be funny Roxton? The shore is miles away, we will never make it that far." She said bitterly.

Feeling anger and survival instincts rising in his throat, he replied vehemently

"Well what do you propose then? We just wait here until we run out of energy and drown? Or perhaps a great big fish will come and eat us for lunch? Or even better…" But he cut off when he caught a glance at the look on her face.

"Let's just get on with it then, John." She replied, too exhausted to bicker.

They set off towards the shore, side by side. However, the tension between them was like two North poles of a magnet forced together.

Ten minutes later they still seemed no closer to the shore and it began to feel as if they were wading through treacle. Each stroke became more difficult than the last, their energy waning rapidly as time ticked by. Placing a hand on Marguerite's upper arm, Roxton signalled for them to stop, too out of breath to speak. Both of the explorers took a respite from their struggle, gasping for breath. However, from the moment they stopped the water began to pull them backwards, towards the place where they had started.

"John…" Marguerite glanced at him uneasily.

"What the…" Was all the hunter said, as he looked around them and saw that all the water within a 5 metre radius of where they had started was being drawn back to that very spot. From above, it looked like a current was drawing the edges of a circle towards its centre, whilst the rest of the ocean remained completely unaffected by the apparent phenomenon.

The two explorers turned to face each other in exasperation.

"John, what are we going to do?"

"We should try again, perhaps the tide has died down", he said, with as much conviction as he could muster. With an uneasy nod of assent from Marguerite the two explorers set off again. Yet, as they began to reach the same point again they could feel the current pulling them back. Yet this time while Roxton fought even harder, Marguerite, completely exhausted, let the water overpower her. Roxton however, noticing her surrender, threw out his arm to grab hers and pull her close to him.

Staring deep into her eyes, he vowed vehemently "We are not going to die today!" He then continued to fight the current, pulling Marguerite behind him. But yet again, their efforts came to nothing, and they clung to each other as they were drawn back.

Defeat lined every feature of Marguerite's face. She was exhausted, and her sodden wet clothes were making it increasingly difficult to stay afloat. She gazed unseeingly into the distance. The sky was beginning to darken and inhabit its usual evening chill. At the beginning of the day Marguerite had imagined spending the evening reading on the balcony, basking in the last rays of sunlight as dusk settled over the Plateau. Not in her wildest imagination had she thought she'd spend the evening shivering in the middle of the ocean, God only knows where waiting to drown. She had always had faith in Roxton, yet this time she knew there was no way out, no way to save them. And she was sorry for this, sorry for what could have been, yet now would never be.

Roxton felt numb as he was overcome with defeat. He had failed the woman he cared about more than anything in the world. He watched her as she tread water, desperately trying to stay afloat. She was shivering now, her lips taking on a slight blue tint. He could see how every movement of her body was a trial. She had appeared terribly exhausted even before they were plunged to this God forsaken corner of the Plateau. Darkness had now fallen and the moon had appeared, a great and ominous glow in the night sky.

Her desperation growing and panic rising, Marguerite said in a shaking voice "Roxton, we're going to die aren't we?"

"We don't know that Marguerite. Someone might come for us, a boat or..or…"

"Don't Roxton…" she replied, shaking her head slowy, becoming more morose by the second, "This is where it ends." At that, the corners of her mouth turned down. In a gesture of comfort, for he could do no more, the hunter took one of her hands in his as they continued to tread water.

"I'm sorry Marguerite, for everything. I shouldn't have been so insistent with you earlier..." But when she didn't reply he noticed that her eyes had begun to drift shut, and her body stop fighting as the water began to pull her down.

"Marguerite! Marguerite! Don't you do this to me, fight!" He yelled gruffly as he struggled to keep her above the surface of the water. Pulling her close he found that she was still breathing, yet barely conscious. Her eyelids fluttered slightly revealing her bewitching silvery eyes, yet all she did is moan lightly in her struggle to stay conscious. At that point the water began to pull her in, down beneath the surface. Roxton, seeing this nerving phenomenon grabbed her around the waist, and used his legs to kick them away from that part of the water. However, the current drawing them downward just became even stronger, ripping Marguerite from his arms and taking her deep into the murky water below.

"Marguerite! NO!" Taking a deep breath he dove down after her, letting the water pull him down now. Searching desperately for his beloved, he caught a glimpse of her ivory blouse nearing a dark crevice at the bottom of the sea bed, at least 50 metres down. In his haste to reach her, what he didn't notice however, was the way the sea bed was not lined with plants and sand, but vast expanses of shimmering grey rock.

He pushed himself to swim faster and fight the exhaustion which threatened to overwhelm him. However, he was quickly running out of oxygen and the current was still drawing him down. By this point his lungs were burning for oxygen, yet all he could think about was Marguerite: _she can't die alone_. So he fought until stars began to cloud his vision and the whole world turned black.


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing she recognised as she slowly regained consciousness was the ease with which breathing came. She took a few moments to fill her lungs and feel the bliss of fresh, cold air as it reached her lungs and replenished her body. Then came array of beautiful distant smells which she thought had been buried in the recesses of her mind for an eternity. The tangy, distinct smell of varnish, mixing with the fresh morning air; the soft smell of last night's aftershave; a freshly mown lawn, and pears soap! Oh pears soap!

Still, without opening her eyes she let her arms stretch out across the bed to discover crisp white sheets. This was the point where she realised something was different to the way it should be. All these luxuries were in the past for her unless they ever find a way home. 'That's it!' she thought as she recalled the expedition and the usual monotony of life on the plateau. 'Perhaps I'm still dreaming' she mused, as she resigned herself to enjoy every last second of it before Veronica or one of the other irritant inhabitants of the tree house came to wake her.

Yet, as she lay there half way between sleep and wakefulness she realised that no one was coming. So, resignedly, she rolled onto her side and opened her eyes to find nothing that she had expected. She watched the morning light filter into the large room through white gauzy curtains. She stared in front of her at the grand mahogany chest of drawers against the far wall and the trinkets that adorned it; she let her eyes flicker over the heavy curtains that were held back from the window against the wall; at the grand wooden floor and the silk covers which adorned the bed when a sound behind her broke her reverie.

She heard a muffled snore and movement beside her and suddenly turned to find Roxton lying, half naked, (she hoped) beside her and let out a squeal before jumping out of bed to face him.

"ROXTON?"

He opened his eyes in fright and sat up to face the beautiful woman.

"Marguerite, what in heaven's name is the matter?"

"What are you doing here? What am I doing here Roxton? Where are we?" She gasped in panic as she took in more of her surroundings until her eyes settled on a silver bound photo above the fireplace, upon the ornate mantelpiece.

"What...?" she half asked as she walked unsteadily toward the picture.

"Marguerite, calm down! You probably just had a bad dream." The Lord said as he slowly climbed out of bed and walked towards her. "We're home, we have been for two years now. Come here." He said as he opened his arms to embrace her.

Yet, she didn't turn away from the mantelpiece. Her delicate hand reached out to grasp the photo. And she turned her body to face him, but did not take her eyes off the photo for one moment.

"This is us?" She asked as she raised her head to meet his eyes in fear.

"Yes, Marguerite" he said with hurt tracing his features, "The happiest day of our lives, you said so yourself." He replied as her eyes once again took in the photo.

Her eyes traced over the beautiful silk gown that flowed over her body and pooled at her feet; the bouquet of dark roses in her hand; her hair pulled back from her face and piled beautifully upon her head with a pearl clip; The church in the background; the handsome man beside her with his arm around her waist and the ring upon her finger...

Suddenly she dropped the photo, oblivious to the loud crash it made as the glass shattered upon the ground at her feet, and looked searchingly at her left hand for the ring, and there it was, a small perfect gold band with a sparkling diamond to top it off.

"Please be careful Marguerite" Roxton said as he stepped forward to gather the pieces of the broken glass from around their bare feet. "You have an appointment today."

Satisfied that it was her in the photo she said in shock and fear: "but, John, I can't remember anything."

The cold uneven floor beneath his spent body was the first thing lord Roxton felt as he slowly began to regain consciousness. Every inch of his body ached and resisted his attempt to move, or even open his eyes. His cold, wet clothes clung to his body, the weight of it pinning him to the ground where he lay.

Fighting the urge to remain stationary, Roxton, using a great deal more effort than he ever thought necessary, opened his eyes. He began to take in his surroundings, whilst trying to recall what had brought him here. He gazed upon the cavern within which he lay; he took in its uneven floor and walls with their odd metallic gleam, as he fought to remember what had brought him here.

Suddenly, interrupting his reverie came a chilling, all too familiar voice:

"So, the gallant lord of secrets awakes."

The lord turned his head in the direction of the voice he recognised, yet could not quite place. Sitting hunched against a cavern wall, to his surprise, was a face he had not expected to see ever again.

"You look surprised Lord Roxton. I think it's about time we had a talk. You see, you have something that I want and, if I'm not mistaken, I have something that you want." said Maplewhite as he motioned to Marguerite's unconscious body before him.


End file.
